Corset-stay



(No Model.)

H. G. SHERWOOD CORSET STAY.

Patented July 28, 1885.

PATENT HENRY C. SHER\VOOD, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

CO RS ET-STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,219, dated July 28, 1885.

Application filed October 23, 1884. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. SHERWOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corset-Stays; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the manufacture of corsets, and has for its object to produce a brace or stiffener which shall combine the ad vantages as to flexibility and comfort to the wearer of narrow single braces, with the durability, strength, and ability to resist the lateral strain of lacing, which is the property of wide braces or double bracesjoined together at the ends. The material of which the braces are composed forms no part of my present invention. Horn, whalebone, or steel may be used. I preferably, however, use steel, as that material furnishes the maximum of strength, flexibility, and durability with the minimum of bulk.'

Heretofore when narrow strips of steel have been used for back braces the two steels have been joined together at their ends with an open space between them, or else they have been placed at the desired distance apart and covered with one or more layers of paper or cloth, which have been pasted or glued to the steels and to each other between the steels. Neither of these styles of double braces, however, meets the requirements of the trade. WVhen joined at the ends, the flexibility of the single braces is largely overcome by the joining, while at the same time slight additional strength is gained at the very point where strength is required to resist thelateral strain of lacing-t. 6., midway of the length of the braces, where such strain is necessarily greatest. When the steels are joined together by layers of paper or textile material pasted thereto, the perspiration of the wearer and the movements of the body frequently act to separate the steels from the textile or paper covering, leaving them free to work up or down, to the serious injury of the clothing, or,

if they happen to work inward, to the great discomfort of the wearer.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned objections, I have devised the simple and novel corset-brace which I will now proceed to describe, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a view of my improved brace detached. Fig. 2 shows it in place in the pocket at the back edge of a half-corset. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, excepting that the central cross-piece is made wider and provided with a hole for an eyelet. Fig. 4 is an edge view, as in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a cross-section through an eyelet, as on the line 00 x in Fig. 2, in place in the pocket. Fig. 6 is a view of a brace in which the side strips and the cross-piece are made integralthat is, blanked out in one piece from a strip of metal; and Fig. 7, a view on a reduced scale, in which the cross-piece is placed nearer to one end of the side strips than the other.

A A are the steels, and B the cross-piece connecting them. 0 and D are, respectively, the inner and outer plies of a corset; E, the pocket for the back brace or stitfener; F, the eyelets, and G is a strip of paper or cloth, or both, placed lengthwise of the brace, for the purpose of supporting and strengthening the eyelets.

The side strips and cross-piece are preferably made of metal, and may be made in one piece, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 or the crosspiece may be riveted to the side strips, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The side strips are placed just sufficient distance apart to permit of the eyelets being readily placed be tween them. The eyelets may be placed at any desired distance apart, and any number may be used. WVhen an eyelet is placed in the central cross-piece, as in Fig. 3, that eyelet will prevent the brace from working either upward or downward out of place. When the central cross-piece is made, as in Fig. 1, the eyelets above and below it, as in Fig. 2, prevent the brace from working out of place under any circumstances. \Vhen used for side stays, the steels may be joined by strips of cloth or elastic stitched or pasted around IOC them; or, if preferred, a rivet may be passed through the material of the corset as well as the cross-piece and steels, for the purpose of holding them against movement either upward or downward.

It will of course be understood that the construction of the corset, whether woven or stitched, or whether the braces or stiffeners are stitched into the corsets, or pockets are stitched therein and the braces run in afterward, forms no part of my present invention, which is limited to the construction of the brace. The brace itself is equally applicable to all classes of corsets, whether woven or stitched, and to all parts of the corset. The main use, however, to which Icontemplate applying it is as a back or lacing brace, as shown in the drawings.

By this construction I wholly do away with the necessity for covering or wrapping the brace. I retain to its fullest extent the flexibility and comfort to the wearer of narrow single braces, and also get the greatest pos sible strength at just the point where it is neededtl1at is, at the point where the strain of lacing comes. The only rigid point in a corset provided with my improved braces is at or about the middle of the brace, just where the lateral strain of lacing comes, but where no flexibility is required. ,By joining the steels at or near the center the ends are left entirely free to yield to the movements of the body, so that there is not the slightest danger of either the upper or lower eyelets being torn out, and by passing rivets either through or on opposite sides of the cross-piece the possibility of the steel working through the material of the corset is wholly prevented.

It will of course be understood that the lengths of the steels must necessarily vary in different styles and sizes of corsets, and that they may in certain styles be longer above the waist than below. The gist of my invention lies in joining the two steels at the waist of the corset, although it may not be exactly midway of the length of the brace.

It is of course obvious that the details of construction may be varied within reasonable limits without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim-- 1. As a new manufacture, a double corset brace or stiffener consisting of two straight parallel strips and a cross-piece connecting them at or near the center, leaving their ends free.

2. .A double corset-brace consisting of two straight parallel strips and a cross-piece, said cross-piece having an eyelet-hole as its center, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combinatiomwith a half-corset having a pocket at its back outer edge, of a brace or stiffener consisting of two straight parallel strips joined by a metallic cross-piece at the waist of the corset, leaving their ends free, and eyelets which pass through the plies of the corset between said strips.

4. The combination, with a half-corset having a pocket, as shown, of a brace consisting of two straight parallel strips joined together by a metallic cross-piece, a strip, G, of paper or cloth, placed in the pocket lengthwise of the brace, and eyelets which pass through the plies of the corset, through strip G, and between the side strips of the brace, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY O. SHERYVOOD. lVit-nesses:

A. M. WoosTnR, A. B. FAIRCHILD. 

